


I knew I loved you (before I met you)

by everydaytomholland



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Meeting, F/M, Meet-Cute, Pepperony - Freeform, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:28:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23379130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everydaytomholland/pseuds/everydaytomholland
Summary: Alternate Pepperony meeting based on a tumblr post
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	I knew I loved you (before I met you)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](https://tonystark-s.tumblr.com/post/613814060303237120) tumblr post.
> 
> Just a little drabble, brought to you by my insomnia.

Tony had been speaking fluent Italian for as long as he could remember. His mother had been notably absent for most of his life, favouring his father, but they were never closer than when they were speaking it together; usually over the piano or while they cooked. 

Once he finished up his studies at MIT, he was 19 years old and ready to see the world on his own terms. It took very little convincing for Howard to fund the trip, for both him and Rhodey, just the promise to behave himself, which neither of them expected him to keep. 

So they set off. He and Rhodey started in the UK and they made their way across to France and The Netherlands, before heading down to Italy. They were planning on spending the longest amount of time in Italy because Tony was so comfortable with the language. It was 2 weeks of exploring the north and driving down through Tuscany before they even made it to Rome. They’d made friends with a Roman guy, Matteo, when in Florence, and he’d agreed to be their tour guide in Rome, showing them both the classic tourist sites, as well as places that only a local would know. 

He quite enjoyed Matteo’s company, Rhodey was a slightly embarrassing example of a classic tourist, taking a hundred photos of every little thing, whereas Tony played it more cool. The two of them mostly just made fun of Rhodey in Italian, but Tony appreciated the opportunity to practice the language. 

Their third day in Rome, they finally took the opportunity to check out the Roman ruins. They started their day at the Forum, then finally - and much to Rhodey’s excitement - the Colosseum in the early evening. Almost instantly, Rhodey ran off to take his photos, including with a man dressed as a Centurion who was almost definitely going to scam him out of a few thousand Lire. Tony was chuckling with Matteo as they watched, when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

“Uh, scusi?” It was a beautiful strawberry blonde girl, who looked to be around Tony’s own age.  
“Buonasera, bella.”  
“Ciao,” she responded, hesitantly, “do you understand English?” Despite her American accent, she clearly had no idea who he was, so he decided to have some fun.  
“Sì, a little bit” he replied in an exaggerated accent.  
“Right, will you take a photo with me, kissing?” She held up her camera and mimed kissing to get the message across, and it took everything he had to not laugh at the adorable display.  
“Ahh, sì sì.” He turned to Matteo, “my friend, take photo?” The girl smiled and nodded, handing a bewildered Matteo the camera.

It took them a minute to set up the framing of the photo, and it struck Tony then how odd this whole thing was, but before he could think on it too long, she was looking at him and he figured ‘why the hell not?’. Right before they kissed he looked at her questioningly, wanting to make sure that she was comfortable with this bizarre situation, and she smiled at him, seeming to know exactly what he was asking and conveying her consent. 

And then they kissed.

Tony had never had a kiss quite like that before. The strange circumstances aside, it was a damn good kiss, one he wasn’t likely to forget soon. And as soon as it started, it was over.  
She looked at him and smiled, “Grazie.”  
He took her hand and kissed it, “Grazie, bella.”  
“Ciao.” And as suddenly as she’d arrived, she was gone, grabbing her camera from Matteo on her way and vanishing in the crowds.

Tony walked back up to Matteo, still feeling a little shocked, but before he could say anything, Rhodey came running up to them.  
“Tones, who the hell was that?” He said, half laughing.  
“No idea, she seemed nice though.”

~

When that girl came to work at Stark Industries 12 years later, neither of them were any the wiser. Of course, once Tony promoted Pepper Potts to his personal assistant a year later, he worked it out within a few days. However he decided to hold onto that information, thinking it would be handy to keep it up his sleeve for later.

And for a while, Tony genuinely forgot to bring it up, even forgetting about it entirely at one point. The memory came screaming back to him one night in an Afghani cave. Once he was back in the US, he couldn’t look at Pepper the same way. But still, he couldn’t find the right moment, everything with his flight suit and handling the fallout at Stark Industries was taking up a lot of his time. 

He almost told her on the night of the gala, that purple dress had really taken his breath away, but then Obie had completely blindsided him. Even after it was over, he ousted himself as Iron Man and his life was changed irrevocably. 

But it was killing him. Literally. He wanted to tell her everything, but he was scared. He wanted to say something before it was too late, but he didn’t know how, so he hid from it. 

Eventually, things worked themselves out, and Tony would’ve gladly gone through it all again if it meant he’d still get the girl. 

They didn’t stay on the rooftop for long after Rhodey flew off, instead flying to Tony’s penthouse in Manhattan to finish what they’d started.

Afterwards, they were chatting idly while Pepper rested her head on Tony’s chest and he stroked her hair. He’d filled her in on the palladium poisoning and how it nearly killed him, and she’d scolded him for not telling her.  
“You know, I never would’ve imagined our first kiss would be on a random rooftop in Queens.” She said, changing the subject abruptly. He knew this was his moment.  
“Oh, that wasn’t our first kiss.”  
“I think I’d remember if we’d kissed before, Mr Stark.”  
“Well I’m telling you you’re wrong, Miss Potts.” She lifted her head off his chest and looked at him, confused. “Rome, July 1989, outside the Colosseum.”  
“I don’t…” her brow furrowed.  
“I may have let you think I was Italian…” her eyes widened as it finally dawned on her.  
“That was you?!”  
“That was me.” He chuckled.  
“Well why didn’t you say anything years ago?” She asked incredulously.  
“I wanted to, I guess I was just waiting for the perfect moment.” He responded softly. She smiled in response and gave him a gentle kiss.  
“You never cease to surprise me, Mr Stark.”  
“I don’t plan to stop, Miss Potts.”  
“Good.”

And while he had no idea what the future would bring - especially now that he was starting to understand the scale of SHIELD and everything that came with it - for that one night he didn’t care. As long as the woman in his arms was still by his side, he knew he’d be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I’m hoping I can get a few more of my WIPs published during quarantine but who knows.


End file.
